Last day of school

Friday was Justin's last day of school at Caterpillar Nursery School. It was the first of many lasts we are sure to experience in the next few weeks and, as I'm sure the others will be too, it was very bittersweet. Children here begin preschool as early as 2 1/2 years making it difficult to find kids at home to play with - they're all in school! So, we shifted our ideals and started looking for one that Justin could attend. When in Rome . . . One of the pros of living in England is that, up until the age of four, 2 1/2 hours of nursery school are paid for by the government - in other words, free! (Maybe that's why all the tykes are enrolled!) We arrived a little too late to find a public school for him. Way too late! Most children are added to a waiting list the minute they're born. So we started scouting the private ones and fell in love with Caterpillar and its headmaster, Mrs. Hassle, not free. That was the beginning . . .


First row: James, Sebastian, Louie; Second row: Elena, Nova, Ella, Chloe, Issy; Third row: Ben, Caspian, Jack, Justin, Harper, Jude; Back row: Suki, Michelle, Mrs. Hassle, Loraine, Darren

Justin went to school five days-a-week for three hours, 12:30 - 3:30. The first day McKenzie and I stayed with him. But by day two, he was kissing me and confidently waving good-bye at the front door. McKenzie was trying to do the same. Besides learning to write his name, re-learning the alphabet (phonetically), and beginning to learn to read, he made body puzzles, self portraits, family trees, frog masks, clay models, tie dye and more. He played with shaving cream, sand, corn flour, marble, glitter, water, paint, and food in the messy room and they learned about seasons, planting, weather, body changes, and life cycles. There were work stations, computer stations, dress-up and imaginative play areas, lots of building blocks, a pet snail, and a comfy book corner. At the end of the day, Justin was one tired little boy!

Caterpillar Nursery School
aka "the little blue school"

The ice cream shop we frequented every Friday on the way home from school.